East London and West Essex Guardian Series | Music

Gerry Marsden of Gerry and the Pacemakers on why he can't help but entertain

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:36:50 +0000

Gerry Marsden of Gerry and the Pacemakers is lounging beneath the scorching Spanish sun. He’s feeling restless.

After a shaky start The Boxer Rebellion are on the rise as they prepare for biggest gig to date

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 11:24:25 +0100

Six years ago The Boxer Rebellion recieved a blow that would leave most other bands knocked out and throwing in the towel.

Stax guitarist Steve Cropper recalls his first UK visit

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 11:05:46 +0100

In a few hours’ time Steve Cropper will boarding a plane for the long flight home to Memphis; it will be the 14th time he’s made the trip since June. Principal guitarist and producer at the Stax studio when Southern soul dominated the charts in the late 1960s, Steve co-authored many of the label’s finest releases: Eddie Floyd’s Knock On Wood, In the Midnight Hour by Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding’s (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay.

After endless bust-ups and breakdowns East 17 are together again - singer John Hendy reveals all

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 16:43:59 +0100

Endless aborted reunions, personnel changes and ego-clashes later, ‘90s boyband East 17 have finally found some stability and go back on the road this month.

Experience the outdoors indoors at Camden venue

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 12:40:00 +0100

Pop-up event offers an oasis of calm in busy Camden Town

YOUR WORDS ARE LIES

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 11:28:19 +0100

Four lads from Woodford – Donnie Craig, Matt Richardson, Owen Molloy and Daanish Butt – make up the band Your Words Are Lies (YWAL). They have just released their first EP Pilliow Talk. Donnie, Daanish and Owen were previously known as Joe’s Asian Fetish, but decided to start again when Matt was added to the line-up this year.

After so much heartache, singer Jo Birchall has finally got something to smile about

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 14:14:44 +0100

Winchmore Hill singer Jo Birchall has been on an emotional rollercoaster but now her career is on the way up, writes George Nott

Difficult to categorise, impossible to ignore: the rise and rise of Ruby Blu*

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 09:59:44 +0100

On Monday Ruebin Martin came back to reality with a bump, returning to his office job at an accident compensation firm. The night before he was leaping around the stage at Somerset House, the focal point for a thousand music fans...

Chickenshed students collaborate with Opera Holland Park for a new aria

Thu, 09 Jun 2011 11:12:43 +0100

For the past decade, Opera Holland Park (OHP) has been bringing opera to new audiences, making converts of those who thought the genre was exclusively for black-tie wearing champagne-quaffers.

Jazz singer Stacey Kent on how integrity has kept her at the top

Wed, 11 May 2011 11:19:28 +0100

Jazz singer Stacey Kent has some high profile fans. Clint Eastwood invited her to perform at his 70th birthday. Three-time Oscar-winning songwriter, Jay Livingston, called her ‘a revelation‘. Best-selling crime writer, John Harvey, has Stacey sing, if only fictionally, in one of his novels. Steve Tyler and Bill Gates are huge fans too.